OMB Individually Reported

TowerScout: Automated cooling tower detection from aerial imagery for Legionnaires' Disease outbreak investigation

Low riskExact public inventory row

Description

Rapid identification of cooling towers that could potentially be spreading Legionella bacteria during outbreaks, enabling faster and more efficient outbreak response.

Detailed example

Detection and classification of cooling towers within aerial imagery.

AI / analytics pattern

Computer Vision: AI that processes and interprets visual data (e.g., images and videos).

Automation level / stage

c) Deployed – The use case is being actively authorized or utilized to support the functions or mission of an agency.

Expected benefit

Detects cooling towers approximately 600 times faster than manual searches. Enables more efficient and timely response during Legionella outbreaks. Improves public health response and outbreak containment.

Controls / human review

ATO: Yes; PIA: Not published

Data needed

Aerial imagery data used for object detection and image classification.